A new ad campaign aims to demystify cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by focusing on pushing fast and hard on a patient's chest rather than worrying about mouth-to-mouth recuscitation.
The campaign, by the non-profit Ad Council and New York ad agency Gotham Inc., encourages Americans to perform hands-only CPR on victims of cardiac arrest and follows CPR guidelines from the American Heart Assocation's Emergency Cardiovascular Care Committee updated in 2008.
There are only two steps, the ads say: Call 911 and push hard and fast in the center of the patient's chest.
"The key really is don't be afraid to help. Don't be afraid to try it," says Michael Sayre, chairman of the heart association committee.
Consumer research shows that people are uncomfortable with performing mouth-to-mouth. And about 45% of adults would not perform CPR because they are not confident doing it, a survey by the heart association showed in 2008.
Americans say they are more likely to perform hands-only CPR, which can be as effective as CPR that combines mouth-to-mouth with chest compressions, the heart association says.
"Part of the messaging is that this is really pretty simple, and (people) can make a big difference just by doing hands-only CPR," Sayre says.
The campaign uses multiple ads, free iPhone and Blackberry applications, a how-to video and an interactive online "hand symphony." Visitors to HandsOnlyCPR.org can create a "symphony" using recorded sounds made by hands.
About 800 Americans develop a sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year, the heart association says. More than 90% of such patients die before they are discharged from the hospital. CPR could double or triple their chances of survival, according to the association.
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